Whispering Shadow
by MidnightEden234
Summary: Ichigo is positive that there's something wrong with his house, but no one ever believes him. They can't see what he can, knocking trees, screaming doors, footsteps in the hallway, a white figure in the mirror. Maybe he's just going crazy? Or maybe his shadow really did kill his mother all those years ago? And now it's back for him. HichiIchi / Dark / Horror / Character Deaths
1. Prologue

**I think I'm gonna have fun with this one! :D Been a while since I've felt so calm about a story…**

**Anyways, my dear friend (Yeah huh, you know who you are!) sent me a picture, and together we came up with this idea! Okay, it's mostly hers… but still!**

**Chapter Warnings: Generously rated T this chapter. Horror themed. Definitely HichiIchi, so that means yaoi.**

**_+=oOo=+_**

Ichigo was seven when it first happened.

He was sitting on his bed next to his mother, Masaki. She was reading him a bed time story, and Ichigo was insistent on listening to it over and over again. Since it was Friday and Ichigo didn't have school the next day, Masaki agreed to read him the story… again.

"…the end." She finished, closing the book and placing it on her lap.

Ichigo's grin was almost comical. He shouted, "Read it again, mommy! Please?"

Masaki rolled her eyes. "Alright, but only once, and you'd better be asleep before I finish!"

Ichigo nodded. He placed his stuffed lion next to him then shuffled under the blankets. After settling in, he looked to Masaki with huge, pleading brown eyes.

Masaki started reading again. "Once upon a time…"

This story was Ichigo's favourite. He loved imagining the fierce dragon, the beautiful princess, the fearless knight and the wicked witch. His favourite character was the knight. He'd imagine a sturdy silver sword and a mighty shield, he'd create all the small details of the knight's armour in his mind, and sometimes he'd imagine himself as the knight.

Before Masaki finished the story, Ichigo had fallen fast asleep. She kissed him on the cheek and put the book away, flicking off the lights before she left.

A storm began to brew outside. The tree branches tapped the windows like a silhouette of bones asking for entrance. The old floors creaked and cracked, sounding like footsteps approaching Ichigo's room. Thunder cracked outside, startling the young Ichigo out of his sleep.

_**Tap… tap… tap.**_

Ichigo gulped and slid out of bed. He approached the door slowly, and with each step the knocking quieted down. He took hold of the door handle and slowly pulled it open. The door swung on its hinges with a loud scream. Nothing. There was nothing in the hall way.

Ichigo turned around, ready to go back to bed. He became frozen in terror when he saw a skeleton, smiling, bits and pieces of pale skin patched about his bloody body. Its eyes were blank, empty, hollow…

Lightning lit up the room, revealing a frame around a mirror where the skeleton was, Ichigo's reflection. A demonic smile graced the skeleton's features for a split second before it vanished with the lightning.

Yuzu screamed.

Ichigo immediately forgot about his reflection for the sake of his baby sister. He ran down the hall to where his two younger twin sisters slept. He entered their room, pushing open the pink door at the end of the hallway. He approached Yuzu's crib. She was completely silent when he entered the room. Her big eyes, full of innocence and wonder, met his childish yet older brown. She reached out a tiny hand, her other hand holding herself steady as she stood on young legs. Ichigo smiled, taking her hand in his.

"It's okay, Yuzu, the sky's just angry." Ichigo explained. She giggled at him. Ichigo helped her lie back down and just as he placed her on her back, Masaki entered the room.

"What's wrong Yuzu? Oh, Ichigo, what're you doing out of bed?"

"I'm helping Yuzu sleep, mommy," Ichigo answered. "I helped her lie down. I did it just like you did!"

Masaki smiled. She approached the crib to check on Yuzu, patting Ichigo on the head to say he'd done a good job. "Come on then, let's get you back to bed."

Masaki read Ichigo the story again.

**_+=oOo=+_**

The image in Ichigo's mirror had been forgotten for two years. It wasn't until Ichigo turned nine that he saw his horrific reflection staring back at him.

Isshin took Karin and Yuzu out for a walk. Ichigo was still asleep, and somehow Masaki had convinced Isshin not to wake his son up with a flying love kick.

Ichigo was asleep under the covers; his blinds closed leaving his room in the darkness. A white, bony hand pulled the covers off the young boy. The figure traced delicate lines across Ichigo's skin, rubbing and kneading the oblivious boy into a fine sleep. A smirk played across cracked lips. The figure leaned down, kissing Ichigo's lips, and as he did a bit more of his dead flesh came back to life.

Ichigo rolled onto his side. He opened his eyes just as the figure vanished. His stomach grumbled loudly just as Masaki called, "Ichigo! Lunch time! Are you awake yet honey?"

Ichigo yawned and stretched out his limbs. He shuddered as a cold chill washed over him, the curtain's wind caressing the soft skin on his arms. "I'm coming mommy!"

Ichigo hopped out of bed, his almost lifeless friend following behind him through his shadow. Ichigo was about halfway downstairs when he heard something strange.

_**Drip… drip… drip.**_

"Mommy?" He called. Ichigo shrugged it off as a loose tap.

He took another step, and another, and another. The stairs creaked and the leaves knocked on the windows. Ichigo reached the bottom of the stairs. He turned into the kitchen, smiling at the plate of grilled cheese sitting on the counter. Ichigo reached for the plate, picking up a sandwich when the noise came again. He turned around.

The plate shattered against the floor. Ichigo cut open his feet rushing for his mother, who lay on the floor surrounded by broken shards of glass. Her throat had been slit, her eyes ripped out, there were scratch marks all across her body and blood beneath her finger nails. It was as if something had gotten under her skin and she had been trying to claw it out.

When his father returned home, Ichigo immediately tried to explain that the house killed Masaki. His father dismissed Ichigo's story as nothing more than the shock of losing someone very close to him at such a young age. Little did Isshin know, Ichigo could see the murderer in the mirrors. In the crystal clear glass there was his reflection, pale white with hollow black eyes.

**_+=oOo=+_**

**Told ya it was horror themed… You can't say I didn't warn you! And hey, if you ignore my introductions that's your fault if you miss something important…**

**Please review, everyone loves getting reviews. It's always nice to hear what others think! Flamers will be beaten to near death with a shovel. ;D (just had to say that!)**


	2. Running Out of Options

It was said that he'd grow out of being paranoid, but at 11 years of age he was still scared of the mirrors and blaming the house for killing Masaki.

Most nights were sleepless. The times that Ichigo collapsed from exhaustion he was woken up by menacing laughter. He'd immediately run to Isshin's room, not only waking up his sisters with his loud stomping, but waking up Isshin who needed sleep in order to tend to his patients.

"For the last time, go to sleep!" Isshin shouted tiredly.

With tears in his eyes, Ichigo retreated to his room leaving Isshin feeling annoyed and a little guilty.

Ichigo couldn't sleep, but he didn't dare go back to Isshin's room. He stared at the ceiling all night, not wanting to go to sleep with fear of meeting his faceless haunter.

Within a few hours Ichigo could hear his father waking up. Noticing that his ceiling was decidedly boring, Ichigo climbed out of bed and went downstairs.

"I don't know what to do with him, Kisuke," Ichigo heard Isshin speak. He must've been on the phone, Ichigo could tell because there was no answer he could hear. "It's getting worse. Every night he's in my room, shaking me awake because he's heard some sort of noise that only he can hear."

Isshin and Kisuke were talking about him.

"I know it's tough on him that his mother died, but he hasn't recovered from it like his sisters." Isshin was cut off, judging by the sound of him coughing. "Yes, well, I know he's my only son- Look! He thinks the house is out to get him! Kisuke, he's not sane."

Ichigo felt his gut clench up. He knew what the word sane meant as well as he could count to ten, and he knew all the numbers up to 10 000.

"I've tried the medication that I have here in the clinic, but the limited supplies I have here aren't what he needs. Yes, that's why I've called you. You can help him, right? Thursday?"

Ichigo snuck back up the stairs and went to his room. He spread out on his bed, tears rushing to his eyes, stinging the red cracks in them caused by his lack of sleep.

_Daddy wants to send me away… _He thought, sobbing softly. _Mr. Urahara is nice, but he works at that scary building. They lock people up in there; they don't let them leave…_

"_Come to me…"_

Ichigo yelped and ducked under his covers. "No!" He shrieked. "Leave me alone! Go away!"

Ichigo could hear his father stomping up the stairs. He knew that as soon as Isshin got here he'd be safe. Then he felt something wrap around his body and he kicked and screamed. Something thudded to the floor and he heard crying.

"Yuzu?" Isshin called. "Ichigo? What's going on up there?"

Ichigo threw off the covers and leapt to Yuzu's aid. She bawled and didn't stop even as Ichigo held her. Isshin came into the room, took Yuzu into his arms and glared at Ichigo. He brought Yuzu to her room then returned shortly after to Ichigo's room. He slowly shut the door.

"What do you think you're doing?" Isshin shouted at Ichigo.

Ichigo jumped onto his bed. "I-I thought s-she was the m-monster! I d-didn't know… I didn't m-mean to hurt her!" he sobbed. "I'm sorry!"

Isshin crossed his arms. After a few seconds his fatherly side won over him. Isshin let out a heavy sigh and let his arms fall to his side. "C'mere Ichigo…"

Ichigo timidly crawled off his bed and walked towards his father. Isshin got down on his knees, wrapped his arms around Ichigo and held him in a tight hold.

"Look. I promise to you that there's nothing hiding in your closet, and that nothing is wrong with this house. Your mother died because a bad man broke in and took her life away. Everyone deals with scary things differently. You saw who hurt mommy, and since you were little you remember what happened differently from the way things actually happened."

Ichigo nodded and held Isshin tight. "I miss mommy…"

"I know. I do too." Isshin kissed Ichigo softly on his forehead. He then picked him up and spun him in a circle, Ichigo giggling madly. "How about we go say sorry to Yuzu? You hurt her, remember?"

Ichigo looked devastated. "I'll say sorry! I'll say it a hundred times!"

Isshin chuckled. "Alright. And you'll give her a big hug too?"

Ichigo nodded. Isshin brought him to Yuzu's room where the young girl was curled up on her bed. Ichigo slowly approached her. He cleared his throat and whispered, "Yuzu?"

She mumbled something that sounded like, "Go away."

Ichigo tapped her shoulder. "I'm sorry I kicked you. It won't happen again, I promise! And, you can kick me if it makes you feel better."

Yuzu rolled over to face him. Her eyes were puffy with tears, small orbs rolling down her chubby cheeks. She put her foot on Ichigo's face and pushed gently. Ichigo threw himself back into Karin's bed, making a fake and funny scream as he landed. Yuzu giggled and hopped off her bed. She jumped onto Ichigo and hugged him tightly. "It's okay Ichi-nii! I know you didn't mean it…"

Ichigo smiled and hugged Yuzu back. Isshin left them alone to play for the rest of the day. Ichigo fell asleep with Yuzu snuggled beside him. He wasn't woken up by nightmares, nor was Isshin woken as a result by said nightmares. Then next day was Wednesday and Ichigo was bouncing around all happy and well rested. He seemed more than pleased that Kisuke was coming over; seemingly forgetting about the conversation he'd overheard. Karin was a little worried about Kisuke visiting, and Yuzu just sat happily in Ichigo's lap, continuing to play with building blocks that didn't quite fit together…

Thursday arrived even faster, and that's when the doctor arrived. Kisuke brought a popsicle stick for Yuzu to play with, she had a strange obsession with those, and he took Ichigo into a separate room to do some private tests.

The tests were mainly if Ichigo could walk straight, if he could read, how fast he found things in 'I Spy' and how long it took for him to tie his shoelaces...

Then Kisuke told Ichigo to look into a mirror.

"I don't wanna!" Ichigo protested, hiding his face in his hands.

"Well, why not?" Kisuke asked.

"Because I don't wanna! I don't like mirrors!" Ichigo screamed, stomping his foot on the ground.

"I can see that. But why don't you like mirrors, Ichigo?"

Ichigo peeked through his fingers and stared up at Kisuke. "It's a secret… promise you won't lock me away if I tell you? Please! I'm not insane. I'm not lying!"

Kisuke smiled and put his hand over his heart. "I promise!"

"There's a monster in my reflection."


	3. Ichigo's Mirror

Kisuke had not, in the least, expected that response. Sure, he'd dealt with plenty of children before, and of course children had the most ridiculous imaginations, but to be afraid of a mirror? That was something Kisuke wasn't sure how to handle.

For now, he gave Ichigo a smile and said, "Of course you are. I would be afraid of a monster too."

Ichigo, seemingly believing Kisuke's horrible acting, smiled and wrapped his small arms around him. "Thank you." There was too much weight to Ichigo's voice.

"You're welcome," Kisuke replied, his voice as serious as Ichigo's was. "Go tell your father that he can come see me now."

Ichigo nodded and bounced off.

True to his word, Kisuke didn't mention anything about the mirror. He asked Isshin to bring Ichigo back the following week, to which Isshin agreed.

The time between that day and the follow week was difficult for just about everyone. Beginning with Kisuke, who spent long nights researching children's fears and comparing them to Ichigo. He planned different tests, and he even considered keeping Ichigo hooked up to a dream monitoring device overnight. Perhaps the answer was nightmares? Kisuke hoped so. If Ichigo was hallucinating, then life for the boy would be near impossible.

Secondly, Isshin wasn't getting any sleep either. He kept himself busy with work as an excuse not to sleep. The nights were always different. Isshin would lie down, maybe get some sleep, and wake up to see something like Masaki's ghost floating over him. He flicked on the light and she'd be gone. There was another time that he'd heard whispers coming from Ichigo's room. Though, every time he checked there was nothing. Usually Isshin would curl up under the covers, shut his eyes, attempt to sleep and find that his own heartbeat kept him awake.

The only one that seemed totally fine by his next appointment was Ichigo himself.

"You seem happy Ichigo, did you work out your monster problem?" Kisuke asked after he shut the door, isolating himself and Ichigo.

To his surprise, Ichigo nodded. "Yeah! I met a friend who fights monsters. Oh. I'm not supposed to tell you about him."

Kisuke raised his eyebrow. "And why not?"

"He told me his work is top secret, and that I'm not supposed to tell anyone."

Kisuke 'hmmed' and sat down. He took out a pen and a clip board then starting jotting down notes. "Can you tell me what they look like?"

Ichigo shook his head 'no'.

"Can you tell me anything about them?"

Ichigo shook his head again. "He told me that if I told anyone that he'd have to kill me."

"Oh," was Kisuke's single response. He sighed and looked down at his pen, tapping it against his mostly blank page. Scribbled at the top was: _Ichigo Kurosaki; hallucinations confirmed. Potential schizophrenia?_

"What are you writing?" Ichigo questioned after a minute of silence.

"Hmm…" Kisuke smiled, an idea popping into his head. "How about this, if I answer one of your questions will you answer one of mine?"

Ichigo glanced around before pointing to Kisuke's left. "Is that a mirror?" He asked.

Kisuke turned to face where Ichigo was pointing. In the corner of the room was a flat surface covered by a blanket. Kisuke had covered it before Ichigo entered the room so as to not scare the boy. His original idea was to gradually uncover the mirror and allow Ichigo to get used to it. "Yes, it is."

Apparently Kisuke's plan could now be scratched. "Can you uncover it?"

Kisuke nodded and stood. He took off the blanket then sat back down. He observed Ichigo stare into the mirror, his body completely still but his lips moving slightly. It was about two minutes before Ichigo turned his attention back to Kisuke.

"I will answer your question if you answer mine."

Kisuke smiled and leaned back in his chair. "You can ask first."

"What are you writing?"

"Notes," Kisuke answered. "Usually what we talk about." He moved on to ask, "Why aren't you allowed to tell me about your friend?"

Ichigo looked back to the mirror. He was still, silent. Then a thirty seconds later he replied, "He didn't want me to speak about him because he felt bad that daddy didn't believe me. He didn't want me to get hurt anymore."

"Does your dad hurt you?"

Ichigo didn't answer. "Do you believe me, Dr. Urahara?"

Kisuke forced a smile. "I find it hard not to. What does your friend look like?"

"Like me." Ichigo turned his gaze from the mirror to Kisuke. "He doesn't have skin, or eyes, or muscles or much hair… There's a black space where his eyes should be, and he's just bones everywhere else. His hair is white, and it looks like mine. He said one day he'll look almost exactly like me, when he's stronger, and when we're better friends."

Kisuke nodded and wrote down the description.

"What are you writing?" Ichigo asked again.

"What you just told me."

Ichigo shifted nervously. "He doesn't like that. Erase it."

Kisuke blinked and paused in writing for a brief moment. He flipped his pen around and pretended to erase the words. "Are you scared of him?"

"No." Ichigo looked at the mirror again, then back at Kisuke. "Are you a liar?"

Kisuke froze.

"He says you're a liar. He says you don't believe me, and he says you're not really erasing his words. He's getting angry, Doctor! He's getting mad!" Ichigo clamped his hands over his ears. Kisuke threw the blanket back over the mirror. Ichigo whimpered and took his hands off his head. He eyed the blanket nervously, as if it would come alive and eat him at any moment.

"Are you okay?" Kisuke questioned.

Ichigo nodded, but was still shaking fearfully. Kisuke looked around and found a toy truck. He let Ichigo hold it and play with it until he calmed down. He sighed and let Ichigo go. The last thing he did that night was throw out the mirror, blanket with it.

* * *

><p><strong>This is not what I expected to happen this chapter. Uhm, it was all a bit of a blurb, so if you see a mistake let me know so I can fix it. Heheh<strong>


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